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This article starts off by defining bioinformatics, then it goes on to describes the bioinformatics industry in Australia.

We investigate the relationship between customer and supplier firms’ abnormal accruals to examine whether the supply chain is an important transmission channel of abnormal accruals. We propose “earnings management” hypothesis and “customer demand shock” hypothesis. Empirically, we examine the relation between a supplier’s estimated abnormal accruals and those of its major customers using Compustat Business Segment Files over the period 1987–2015. To further explore the demand shock channel, we directly test the impact of the bullwhip effect (BWE) on the linkage in abnormal accruals along the supply chain. Following the literature in operation management, we construct the amplification ratio, measured as the coefficient of variation of a firm’s orders divided by the coefficient of variation of the firm’s demand. We find that customer firms’ demand shocks link customer and supplier abnormal accruals as they propagate along the supply chain, via the BWE. Our evidence supports “customer demand shock” hypothesis. Consistent with the view that improving predictions on orders from their customers would mitigate this BWE, we find that a customer’s abnormal accruals have a much smaller impact on those of its suppliers whose auditors have expertise in the customer’s industries. Overall, our results suggest that the supply chain is an important transmission channel of abnormal accruals, and auditor expertise serves to reduce information opaqueness during this process. Our paper contributes to the literature examining the impact of BWEs on firms’ financial performance and the role of auditors’ expertise in reducing information opaqueness in supply chain.

Little has been written about new product and packaging development processes within the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. While often taking on the status of apocryphical folklore, branded FMCG product development failure rates as high as 90%–95% have appeared in the popular and consultancy press. However, no rigorous study has addressed the commercial success/failure rates of private-label products in this context; an area in which the leading UK supermarket (grocery) retailers are acknowledged to excel. Using a case study-based approach that involved ASDA and six of its leading private-label suppliers, this paper details empirical findings of the operational and commercial performance of the focal ASDA NPD (new product development) process, along with initial insights into the key determinants of this performance. It also produces the first description of the origin, composition and operation of a Supplier Association within the UK FMCG industry and details the new NPD process mapping method and tool that was developed to conduct this study.

In 2014, Shanghai Husi Food Company Ltd. (Husi) was found guilty of supplying reprocessed and expired meat to their western fast food clients operating all over China. The company lied about production and expiration dates and provided false guarantees about the storage life of their products. Many Western fast food clients such as McDonalds and Starbucks were affected by the scandal. The case discusses the scandal, whistleblowing, and food safety issues in the People’s Republic of China.

Taobao is an online platform on which users can sell their products within China and all over the world. Many Chinese villagers use this opportunity and produce products to be sold on the platform. The problem is that they ignore international Intellectual Property Rights and produce and sell products that resemble brand products from all over the world. The case discusses the developments of the so-called Taobao Villages, the protection of property rights in China and foreign manufacturers’ responses to these challenges.

In 2016, Jack Ma, China’s richest man, mentioned publicly that he thinks that fake good are better than the original ones. This comment started a discussion on production processes in China, the protection of property rights, and how foreign manufacturers of brand products are affected by them. The case discusses these issues from various perspectives.

Using Information on more than 1000 firms in a number of emerging countries, we find quantitative evidence that suppliers of multinationals that are pressured by their customers to reduce production costs or develop new products have higher productivity growth than other firms, including other host country suppliers of multinationals. These findings provide first emplrical support for a “forced llnbge effect” from supplying multinational companies. Our findings hold controlling for other factors within and outside the supplier-customer relationship and when endogeneity concerns are taken Into consideration.